1953 Alabama Crimson Tide football team

Schedule

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Game summaries

Mississippi Southern

Montgomery, AL

• Source: To open the 1953 season, Alabama was upset by the Mississippi Southern Southerners 25–19 at the Cramton Bowl on a Friday night. The first touchdown of the game was set up after Jim David recovered a Laurin Pepper fumble at the Southern 43-yards line. Five plays later, Tommy Lewis scored on a short run for a 7–0 Alabama lead. The Eagles responded on their next possession with a three-yard Billy Jarrell touchdown pass to Bucky McElroy and made the score 7–6. In the second quarter each team traded touchdowns with Alabama scoring on a five-yard William Oliver, Southern on a 45-yard Jarrell pass to Pepper and Alabama again on a five-yard Bart Starr pass to Curtis Lynch for a 19–12 Crimson Tide lead at halftime. After a scoreless third, Southern scored a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns, first on a 66-yard Pepper run and then on 23-yard Jarrell pass to Leonard Williams, and won the game 25–19. The loss brought Alabama's all-time record against Mississippi Southern to 6–1.

LSU

Mobile, AL

• Source: To open conference play for the 1953 season, Alabama played LSU to a 7–7 tie at Ladd Stadium in Mobile.

Vanderbilt

Nashville, TN

• Source: In their first road game of the season, the Crimson Tide defeated the Vanderbilt Commodores by a final score of 21–12 in Nashville for their first win of the season and their first over Vandy since the 1946 season.

Tulsa

Tuscaloosa, AL

• Source: In the first all-time meeting between the schools, Alabama defeated the Tulsa Golden Hurricane 41–13 in the first Denny Stadium game of the season. After a scoreless first quarter, Alabama touchdowns on an 11-yard William Oliver run, a 63-yard Thomas Tharp run and a 56-yard Bobby Luna interception return for a 20–0 Crimson Tide lead at halftime. Alabama extended their lead further to 34–0 after third-quarter touchdowns on a 31-yard Bart Starr pass to Bud Willis and on a two-yard William Stone run. Tulsa scored both of their touchdowns in the fourth quarter, first on an eight-yard Bob Bohn pass to Bob Holladay and on an 11-yard Bill Waller run. The Crimson Tide then made the final score 41–13 when Hootie Ingram scored on a one-yard run with just under a minute left in the game.

Tennessee

Birmingham, AL

• Sources: In their annual rivalry game against the Tennessee Volunteers, Alabama had a chance to defeat the Vols for the first time since 1947, but settled for a scoreless tie after a fumble at the Tennessee five and missed a 43-yard field goal.

Mississippi State

Tuscaloosa, AL

• Source: On homecoming in Tuscaloosa, the Crimson Tide battled the Mississippi State Maroons to a 7–7 tie at Denny Stadium after a 26-yard Bobby Luna field goal was blocked as time expired.

Georgia

Athens, GA

• Sources: At Sanford Stadium, Alabama defeated the Georgia Bulldogs 33–12 to end a two-game winless streak on homecoming in Athens.

Chattanooga

Tuscaloosa, AL

• Source: In the final Denny Stadium game of the season, Alabama defeated the Chattanooga Moccasins 21–14.

Georgia Tech

Birmingham, AL

• Source: Against Georgia Tech, Alabama upset the No. 5 ranked Yellow Jackets 13–6 at Legion Field in Birmingham.

Maryland

College Park, MD

• Source: On the road against the No. 2 ranked Maryland Terrapins, Alabama was shutout 21–0 at Byrd Stadium.

Auburn

Birmingham, AL

• Sources: For the fifth time in six years since the revival of the Auburn series, Alabama defeated the Tigers 10–7 at Legion Field and clinched both the SEC Championship and a berth in the Cotton Bowl Classic.

Rice

Dallas, TX

• Source: In their first all-time game against Rice, the Crimson Tide were defeated 28–6 by the Owls in the Cotton Bowl Classic. Alabama took a 6–0 lead after its only touchdown was scored by Tommy Lewis on a two-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. Rice responded with a series of three, of long touchdown runs by Dicky Moegle to take a 21–6 lead into the fourth quarter. His first touchdown came on a 79-yard run on the first play of the second quarter, the second on a 95-yard run and the third on a 37-yard run. The 95-yard touchdown was awarded by the referee after Tommy Lewis left the Alabama sideline, entered the field of play and tackled Moegle at the Alabama 42-yard line. Rice then scored their final touchdown in the fourth quarter on a seven-yard Buddy Grantham run for the 28–6 victory.

Personnel

Varsity letter winners

Coaching staff

References

General

Specific

References

1. "1953 Alabama football schedule". University of Alabama Department of Intercollegiate Athletics.
2. Watkins, Edwin. (September 19, 1953). "Miss Southern smashes Bama 25–19 on fourth quarter surge". The Tuscaloosa News.
3. 1953 Season Recap
4. DeLassus, David. "Alabama vs Southern Mississippi". College Football Data Warehouse.
5. Watkins, Edwin. (September 27, 1953). "Tide foils late drives for 7–7 tie with LSU". The Tuscaloosa News.
6. DeLassus, David. "Alabama vs Louisiana State". College Football Data Warehouse.
7. Watkins, Edwin. (October 4, 1953). "Bama's Starr paces Tide in win over Vandy, 21 to 12". The Tuscaloosa News.
8. Watkins, Edwin. (October 11, 1953). "Fighting Tide engulfs Tulsa Hurricane 41–13". The Tuscaloosa News.
9. Watkins, Edwin. (October 18, 1953). "Tide, Vols battle to 0–0 tie". The Tuscaloosa News.
10. Watkins, Edwin. (October 25, 1953). "Near-record crowd sees Tide tie State 7 to 7". The Tuscaloosa News.
11. (November 1, 1953). "Alabama swamps Georgia with long runs, passes". The Miami News.
12. Watkins, Ed. (November 8, 1953). "Moccasins sting Tide before second half score wins 21–14". The Tuscaloosa News.
13. (November 15, 1953). "Alabama turns back Georgia Tech 13 to 6". The Tuscaloosa News.
14. Bowen, George. (November 22, 1953). "Terps throw up great defense to blank Alabama Tide, 21–0". The News and Courier.
15. Watkins, Ed. (November 29, 1953). "Tide gets Cotton Bowl bid after beating Auburn". The Tuscaloosa News.
16. Griffin, John Chandler. (2001). "Alabama vs. Auburn: Gridiron Grudge Since 1893". Hill Street Press.
17. Watkins, Ed. (January 2, 1954). "Rice beats Alabama 28–6, Moegle is Star". The Tuscaloosa News.
18. DeLassus, David. "Alabama vs Rice". College Football Data Warehouse.
19. (2011). "2011 Alabama Crimson Tide Football Record Book". University of Alabama Athletics Media Relations Office.
20. (2011). "2011 Alabama Crimson Tide Football Record Book". University of Alabama Athletics Media Relations Office.